Controlliamo il nodo prima di attraccare.

Controlliamo is the 1st person plural form of controllare in the present tense, so it literally means we check / we are checking.

In context, though, it can also function like an inclusive command:

• Controlliamo il nodo = We check the knot / Let’s check the knot

Italian often uses the same form for:

• present indicative: we check
• 1st person plural imperative: let’s check

So context tells you which sense is intended.

Italian usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows the subject.

Here:

• controlliamo already tells you the subject is noi = we

So:

• Controlliamo il nodo = We check the knot
• Noi controlliamo il nodo is possible, but noi is usually added only for emphasis or contrast.

Yes. That is a very natural interpretation.

In Italian, the 1st person plural present form is also used as the “let’s …” form:

• Andiamo = We go / Let’s go
• Controlliamo = We check / Let’s check

So depending on tone and situation, this sentence could mean:

• We check the knot before docking
• Let’s check the knot before docking

Il nodo means the knot, while un nodo means a knot.

Using il suggests a specific knot that both speaker and listener already know about. In a boating context, that makes sense: they are probably talking about a particular rope or fastening point.

So:

• il nodo = the knot (specific, known)
• un nodo = a knot (non-specific)

Here nodo most likely means knot, especially because the sentence involves attraccare (to dock).

Be careful: nodo can have different meanings in Italian, such as:

• knot in a rope
• node
• knot as a unit of speed in navigation

But in this sentence, the most natural meaning is the knot in the rope.

Prima di + infinitive means before doing something.

So:

• prima di attraccare = before docking

This is a very common Italian structure:

• prima di partire = before leaving
• prima di mangiare = before eating
• prima di parlare = before speaking

English speakers sometimes want to map this as before to dock, but that is not how either language works here. In Italian, after prima di, you normally use the infinitive.

Attraccare means to dock, to come alongside, or to moor a boat at a dock or quay.

It is a nautical verb. In this sentence, it refers to the action of bringing the boat in and securing it.

So:

• prima di attraccare = before docking
• sometimes also understood as before mooring

Because it follows prima di, which is a structure that normally takes the infinitive when the subject is the same as the subject of the main clause.

Here the implied subject is the same:

• (noi) controlliamo ...
• (noi) attracchiamo

So Italian says:

• Controlliamo il nodo prima di attraccare.

If the subject were different, Italian would often use a different construction, for example with prima che:

• Controlliamo il nodo prima che loro attracchino.
• We check the knot before they dock.

Yes, absolutely. That word order is very natural.

Both versions are correct:

• Controlliamo il nodo prima di attraccare.
• Prima di attraccare, controlliamo il nodo.

The difference is mainly one of focus or rhythm:

• starting with Controlliamo il nodo puts the action first
• starting with Prima di attraccare emphasizes the time sequence first

The main thing is to notice that Italian is more compact here than English in some contexts.

Italian:

• prima di attraccare

English:

• before docking
• before we dock
• before docking the boat depending on context

Italian does not need to say we again, because the sentence already makes the subject clear. So a learner should not expect a separate word meaning we inside prima di attraccare.

Yes. It sounds natural, especially in a practical or nautical context.

It is:

• grammatically straightforward
• neutral in tone
• something you might say while giving instructions or planning the next step

If the speaker is giving a suggestion, it naturally feels like:

• Let’s check the knot before docking.

If the speaker is simply describing a routine, it can mean:

• We check the knot before docking.